by TChris

This is Sen. Bill Frist, explaining why he had no conflict of interest in voting for or against health care legislation despite his ownership of stock in the hospital chain, HCA Inc., that his family founded:

Asked in a television interview in January 2003 whether he should sell his HCA stock, [Frist] responded, "Well, I think really for our viewers it should be understood that I put this into a blind trust. So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock"

Frist, referring to his trust and those of his family, also said in the interview, "I have no control. It is illegal right now for me to know what the composition of those trusts are. So I have no idea."

Recently disclosed facts are inconsistent with Frist's insistence that he had no idea whether he owned HCA stock:

Readers Digest, a predictably conservative publication for decades, may be changing its stripes on at least one issue: Three Strikes Laws. This article, Why Three Strikes Laws Don't Work, appears at page 152 of the October issue.

Convinced that too many judges were going easy on violent recidivists, Congress enacted federal "mandatory minimum" sentences two decades ago, mainly targeting drug crimes. Throughout the 1990s, state legislatures and Congress kept upping the ante, passing new mandatory minimums, including "three strikes and you're out" laws. The upshot was a mosaic of sentencing statues that all but eliminated judicial discretion, mercy, or even common sense.

Now we are living with the fallout.

The magazine also has reader comments on the article, asking the question:

• Jesus' General writes a letter.
• The Poor Man creates a cartoon.
• Arianna's Russert Watch
• Jane Hamsher on Daniel Schorr and Judith Miller
• Heretik on the Saint Patrick Four war protesters being found guilty only of lesser charges in Binghamton.
• TBogg on Ralph Nader

When a Senator decides to run for President, like Joe Biden, it's only fair that we examine what he has done as Senator for those in his home state. Read this article on the AIDS epidemic that is rampant in Delaware prisons - it is the cause of death of one of every four inmates who die there. Where is Biden? Has he introduced federal legislation to help them?

There's another reason to read this article. This isn't only happening in Delaware, although for the past two years Delaware has the worst record in the country.

by Last Night in Little Rock

As noted in the previous post, the Homeland Security Inspector General is looking into favoritism in letting no bid contracts to Bush Administration cronies. But, over at the Pentagon, the IG finds himself under investigation for allegedly slowing investigations of Bush appointees, as reported in today's LA Times.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Articles about no bid contracts from the Federal Emergency Mismanagement Agency are starting to pile up. Today's NY Times has "Many Contracts for Storm Work Raise Questions" quoting the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Homeland Insecurity.

Martin Scorcese's documentary about Bob Dylan, No Direction Home, will air tonight and tomorrow night on PBS. As the Washington Post reports , it's one you won't want to miss.

by TChris

One day after a "massive" anti-war protest in Washington (among other places), the pro-war voices had their chance to be heard. They could barely muster a whisper, as about 400 people -- "far fewer than organizers had expected" -- gathered today on the National Mall.

So here's the unofficial count of those who rallied in Washington this weekend:

Pro-war: 400.

Anti-war: 100,000.

by TChris

The first legal challenge to a school district's plan to teach intelligent design will go to trial on Monday in Harrisburg, PA. Proponents of the plan defend the teaching of a religious belief as "free speech." But science teachers aren't free to speak about their religious beliefs in a public school; their free speech rights are subordinate to their duty as government employees to respect the separation between government and religion.

Proponents also argue that they're simply exposing students to alternative views about the origins of life.

William Arkin writes in the Washington Post that the Armed Services Committee may be using Donald Rumsfeld to spur the end of the Posse Comitatus Act - under the cover of Hurricane Katrina. This would make it easier for Bush to impose martial law.

First off, Arkin says, it's based upon a faulty premise.

Nothing in law prevents the President from employing the military in a Katrina-like emergency if state and local government really breaks down. In fact, the 130-year-old Posse Comitatus Act more symbolizes the military's subordination to civil authority than it actually restricts what the military can do.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff catches Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) in a lie about a junket, arranged by recently arrested Senior OMB Official David Safavian, also reported on Raw Story:

Newsweek's Michael Isikoff catches powerful Ohio congressman Bob Ney (R-OH) in another lie about a trip he took with recently arrested ex-White House official David Safavian. The deal? He said he made the trip to speak to Scottish parliamentarians. The trouble? There's no record of him ever giving a speech--and the parliament wasn't even in session.

RAW STORY revealed another apparent lie the congressman made about who paid for the trip earlier in the week: an email from Safavian indicates that Ney knew that fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff was footing the bill for the junket.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Time tonight poses the interesting question, the title of its lead online story: "How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?"

....then came Michael Brown. When President Bush's former point man on disasters was discovered to have more expertise about the rules of Arabian horse competition than about the management of a catastrophe, it was a reminder that the competence of government officials who are not household names can have a life or death impact. The Brown debacle has raised pointed questions about whether political connections, not qualifications, have helped an unusually high number of Bush appointees land vitally important jobs in the Federal Government.